Verizon Settles Cell Phone Billing Class Action for $90 Million

Washington, DC: Verizon Wireless has announced that it will pay refunds totaling about $90 million to 15 million cell phone customers who were illegally charged for data sessions or Internet use. Customers will reportedly receive either credits ranging from $2 to $6 on their Verizon Wireless October or November bills or, in the case of former customers, refund checks.

The FCC had received hundreds of complaints about unauthorized charges from the telecommunications company's customers spanning the past three years. Customers claimed they were charged for data usage or Web access when their phones were not in use or when they mistakenly pushed a button that was pre-programmed to instantly active the phone's Web browser. Since early 2009, a number of publications, including The New York Times and The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, reported that customers had been complaining of the charges but had often been ignored by Verizon Wireless.